Poison-container.



W A. MARTINDALE.

POISON CONTAiNER. APPLICATION FILED APR- 17. 1916.

Patented. Jan. 22, 1918,

till

WALLACE A. MARTINDALE, 0F CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA."

POISON -C01\T TAIN ER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jam. 22, 191%.

Application filed April 17, 1916. Serial No. 91,823. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l VALLACE A. MARTIN- DALE, citizen of the United States,-residing at Charleston, in the county of Charleston and State of South Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Poison- Containers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention. relates to poison containers, and it has forits object to produce a simple and improved device whereby the actual container is provided with a casing which may be detached only in a certain specified way and which, when in position, renders access to the contents impossible.

A further object of the invention is to produce an improved poison container com prising a receptacle and a casing for the same, said receptacle and easing being provided' with interengaging locking members of simple and improved construction.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same con-' sist'sin the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which" '1 will be hereinafter fullyfdescribed and par ti'cularly out in theclaim.

- Tn'the accompanying drawing has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise'structuraldetails therein ex:

hibite'd," but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scopeof the claim may be resorted'to when'desired.

In the drawings i Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the improved poison container.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the poison receptacle detached from the outer casing."

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4.- in Fig. 1.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The poison receptacle is in the form of a bottle A which may be made of glass or other suitable material, the walls of the receptacle being of sufficient thickness to permit the formation therein of certain locking grooves which will be presently described. The receptacle or bottle is provided near its lower end with a circumferential ofiset l5, and it has at its upper end a shoulder 16 from which rises the neck 17 which is provided with astopper; although any convenient stopper may be used. The wall of the receptacle is provided in the outer face thereof with a vertical groove 19 extending between the shoulder 16 and the offset 15. Adjacent to said offset is formed a horizontal groove 20 which communicates at one end with the groove 19. The topwall of the groove 20 has an upwardly extending recess 21, and extending upwardly from the offset 15 midway between the ends of the recess 21 is a lug 22, the top edge of which lies in the plane of the top wall of the groove 20. The recess 21 is spaced from the groove 19 by a lug 23 which is similar to the lug 22, the lower edge of the lug 23 lying in the plane of the top edge of the lug 22.

The external casing 13 of the improved. device consistsof a shell made preferably of metal, the same having at its upper end a neck 24 adapted to receive the neck 17 of the receptacle or a portion of said neck and hav; ing a closure, preferably a screw cap 25. The

shell B is provided at its lower end'with a" circumferential flange 26 producing a shoulder'or offset 27 adapted toengage'the offset 15 of the receptacle A. The shell or casing" B is provided with an internally disposed lug 28 which is of such dimensions that it will readilyengage' the grooves 19, 20 of the receptacle.

the receptacle A, the lug 28 may travel, it be-' ing necessary to give certain predetermined. twists to the casingrelatively to the recep tacle in order to enable the lug 28 to follow the convolutions of the passageway. While, therefore, not absolutely necessary, it is at least desirable that the operator should be previously acquainted with the particular convolutions of the passageway in order that the receptacle and the casing may be readily assembled and disassembled. This is a precaution against the convenient disassembling of the receptacle and the casing by unauthorized persons. ln some instances it may be found preferable that the contour of the passageway in the receptacle should be exposed, and in. such case the external shell preferably a screw cap 18,

- a lit will be observed that the grooves '19, 20. the outer face of the walls of the recep' may be formed of glass or transparent material.-

In assembling together the hereindescribed shell or casing with the receptacle the lug 28' is first brought in registry with the outer end of the groove 19, after which the casing is slid lengthwise of the receptacle, the latter being held by the left hand of the operator while the casing is supported by the right hand. When the lug 28 strikes the olfset 15, the receptacle andcasing are relatively twisted in opposite directions to move the lug 28 inthe direction of the lug 22. An outward movement of the casing.

will now slide the lug 28 into the recess 21 until it abuts on the upper wallof said recess. A twisting movement is now required to move the lug 28 past the lug 22 until it strikes the end wall of the recess 21,. after which the receptacle is again pushed-inward with respect to the casing until the lug 28 strikes the offset 15. A final twisting movementof the receptacle with respect to the casing will now cause the lug 22 to travel within the horizontal groove 20 until it strikes the inner end wall of said groove when the receptacle and the casing will be locked together. A reversal of the operation is required to separate the casing from the receptacle.

It is ob'v-iousthat within the scope ofthe invention the shape or contour of the groove or passageway formed in the receptacle for the passage of the lug 28-may be materially changed and made more orless intricate than" herein described. 7 7

:When the casing is assembled withthe receptacle it will obviously be impossible for anyone to clispensethe contents of vthe re-' ceptacle' without having ample warning of I the nature of the contents. It thus becomes absolutely impossible to dispense the poisonous contents of the receptacle accidentally or otherwise than with full knowledge and intention.

It may bestatedthat the purpose of providing the screw cap or false stopper 25 is this, thata person picking,- up' the receptaclewill naturally first remove the said screw Games-stems patent-'3 Beobtainefllor cap and will thus to all appearances find. the receptacle empty. It is believed that children will rarely continue the investigation further, but will rather be inclined to replace the stopper. In the case of adults attempting to gain access to the contents by removing the false stopper, that alone would give ample warning that the receptacle or device is one which is not to be tampered with. The said false stopper, therefore, constitutes an additional and very important safeguard to give warning that the receptacle and the contents thereof is not to be tampered with.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

A poison container comprising a receptacle having an external annular offset, said receptacle having also a shoulder and a neck rising therefrom, said receptacle being provided in the outer face thereof with an uninterrupted vertical groove extending between the shoulder and the offset and adjacent'to said offset with a horizontal groove communicating at the lower end with the vertical groove, the top wall-of said horizontal groove having an upwardly extending adapted for engagement with the tortuouschannel ofthe receptacle; said shell having" a shoulder and neck provided with a detachable closure.

in testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WALLACE A. MARTIN DALE. Witnesses:

DAVID DALZELL, GEO. W. Soor'r.

flve' cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

